Advantages and Disadvantages of UV Water Treatment

As people pay more attention to the problem of water pollution, a variety of water treatment solutions is increasingly appearing in our homes, communities, factories and many industries. In our homes, whether the water used is tap water or from private well, a set of water treatment equipment can effectively ensure the safety. For communities or factories, an efficient water treatment system can not only realize the treatment of wastewater, but also realize the efficient reuse of water. Among so many types of water treatment systems, ultraviolet has always been an efficient, stable and safe choice. At the same time, under certain conditions, UV solution also has certain limitations. UV alone cannot solve all the problems. In this Blog, we will objectively analyze the advantages and disadvantages of UV water treatment.

UV Water Treatment and Water Chlorination

Today, many countries have water supply facilities that have been in use for 20 years or more. As large numbers of people move into cities, there is also a great increase in the consumption of groundwater. Moreover, groundwater pollution has been worse. Water chlorination, which is widely applied in tap water systems, can sterilize the raw water to a certain extent. But the chlorination of tap water cannot provide a thorough sterilization for the water. Today, a large number of bacteria and chlorine-resistant microorganisms have been found in municipal tap water systems as well as in private well water. They include e. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, cryptosporidium and giardia, etc. In the face of this problem, water chlorination is powerless, while UV water treatment is reliable.

UV solution is powerful to kill organic microorganisms. Tests have shown that up to 99% of microorganisms in municipal tap or well water can be removed by UV treatment. But for inorganic pollutants, UV treatment cannot realize an effective extermination. But they can also be effectively treated by UV systems in conjunction with water filtration systems.

Advantages of UV Water Treatment

UV water treatment provides an effective and safe water treatment method for urban domestic water and water purification needs in many other industries. The advantages of UV treatment are mainly reflected in the following:

• It effectively kills 99.99% of the organic microorganisms present in water.
• It kills a variety of chlorine-resistant microorganisms that cannot be removed by traditional chlorination process.
• It acts rapidly. Water can be treated while flowing through the system. There is no needs for preparation of storage tanks.
• No hazardous chemicals are required to be stored or used. No harmful by-products such as trihalomethanes in chlorination process will be produced after the treatment.
• It will not change the smell, taste, or pH value of the water.
• Low energy consumption and no waste of water in the process.
• They can work 24 hours a day and all year round. So, they can promise the safety of water supply.
• The equipment is easy to install, and the maintenance frequency is low. You only need to perform maintenance once a year.
• It’s one of the four FDA-approved disinfection methods.

Just because of these significant advantages, UV water treatment is the single best choice for aquariums and swimming pools that require high water quality, as well as beverage manufacture that require high sterilization effects.

Disadvantages of UV Water Treatment

Nothing is perfect, and there is no single solution to every problem. Despite the advantages mentioned above, UV water treatment also has some disadvantages.

Firstly, UV treatment works best when the water is clear. Muddy water can affect the contact between UV rays and microorganisms in the water, thus preventing the effective killing of these microorganisms. If the water to be treated is not clear, it needs to be physically filtered before UV is applied.

Secondly, UV rays can’t remove chlorine, heavy metals, salts and other man-made containments from the water. Therefore, these containments also need to be physically filtered if they are present in the water before UV  is applied.

Finally, one fundamental difference between UV water treatment and traditional water treatment methods is that the working of UV treatment requires a power supply. For certain situations where there is no power supply, this method will not be practical.

We’ve covered some of the Influencing Factors in UV Water Treatment in a previous Blog. Several factors may affect the final quality of UV treatment. These factors must be taken into account if a better water treatment quality is expected.

Conclusion

In summary, UV water treatment has gradually become one of the most effective and reliable water treatment methods to meet the water sterilization demands from families and many industries. In conjunction with a variety of physical filtration systems, UV treatment can provide both purified drinking water for homes and cost-effective water treatment and reuse solutions for a variety of industries.